The Test
by Zeze Writings
Summary: Sakura takes the ANBU test; but, first she must fight Itachi or else she won't pass. What will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**I was bored and didn't want to study... Enjoy. Please Review.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing... yada, yada, yada**

Sakura had finally made it to the last stage of the ANBU test. All she had to do now was spar with one of the ANBU captains. She had watched the other participants fight with their opponents and lose. So far no one had won. It was almost to be expected though. The participants, no matter how strong they may be, were no match for the captains, who had hands on experience. Luckily, their acceptance into ANBU was not determined by whether or not they won.

When it was Sakura's turn, she took a deep breath and walked out into the special arena that they were going to use. Patiently she waited for her opponent to appear. She didn't have to wait long because out of nowhere, Uchiha Itachi appeared. Cursing whatever god was messing with her, Sakura moved into a fighting position while Itachi remained standing unperturbed. Sakura, noticing this, could feel the irritation towards him start to grow. Did he really not take this fight seriously? Her whole future rode on how well this fight went.

A soon as the whistle blew, starting the fight, Sakura charged towards Itachi only looking at his feet. She was smart enough to know by now that if she wanted to win, she would have to fight mainly with Taijutsu and at all costs she must refrain from looking him in his eyes. Her first attacks were basic ones, all of which were blocked and countered. Sakura wanted to judge how close a safe attacking distance would be before she went all out. Itachi, easily seeing through what she was doing, simply let her carry on while also attacking her.

Itachi didn't need to judge her though; he had read her file, when she first applied. As his brother's teammate, she caught his attention. Sakura would have needed to be quite strong to keep up with Sasuke and her profile supported that theory. She was a medic-nin (something ANBU was always in need of) and the Hokage's personal apprentice. Itachi already knew this but what really intrigued him was the fact that they both had the same fighting style. The only difference was that he used Genjutsu instead of Medical jutsu. And upon further inspection, he also found out that Sakura was originally suited to be a Genjutsu user. So naturally, when it came time for him to choose which ANBU wannabe he would fight, he chose Sakura.

Finally, after Sakura had come up with a plan on how she would fight Itachi, she became serious. She rushed to his left with a chakra infused punch but at the last minute feinted to the right. Itachi dodge the punch and aimed a kick at her side. Sakura caught the kick and threw him toward a nearby boulder. Flipping in the air, Itachi landed on the boulder and used his momentum to push himself back towards Sakura. While flying towards her, he took out a kunai and threw it straight at her stomach, avoiding the vital areas. His job was to test her not kill her. If he wanted to kill her she would already be dead.

Sakura, not willing to give up, started to heal her wound. But Itachi wouldn't let her rest. He aimed more kunai at her and added a few Taijutsu moves in as well. Dodging all his attacks, Sakura had healed her wound and was ready to attack again. This time, wanting to try a long distance attack, she put several meters of distance between her and Itachi. Reading her movements, Itachi smirked and turned on his Sharingan. However, Sakura not looking at his eyes couldn't tell the difference. By the time Itachi had moved his first two fingers, Sakura was already deep in a Genjutsu.

"Shit," murmured Sakura.

"There is more than one way to cast a Genjutsu you know," Itachi stated.

Irritated that she allowed herself to be caught, Sakura replied, "Yeah I know. I just thought you would let me fight a bit more before you trapped me in an illusion."

"Never underestimate your enemy, Sakura-san," Itachi said coolly.

"I know, I know. I should be especially careful with you too," Sakura spat.

Itachi, ignoring the almost undeserved anger towards him, replied, "Yes, especially with me."

However, before Itachi could do anything more, someone attacked him from behind. Being the elite ninja that he was, he was able to dodge the attack. Attack after attack came and suddenly they doubled when Sakura joined in. Needing to get away before he was hit, Itachi produced a giant fireball and sent it towards his attackers. When both the fireball and his opponents were away from him, he jumped back far enough to where he could observe who attacked him.

At first all he saw was Sakura and her clone, upon closer inspection though, he could see that one of them had 'Inner Sakura' tattooed across her forehead. Chuckling, Itachi had something else to add to Sakura's profile - Split Personality. While pondering this though, he failed to notice that one of the Sakura's had snuck up behind him. Without having time to react, Itachi was knocked unconscious.

When he finally came too, he could hear voices around him. He was able to pick out his fellow captains' voices; the other test takers were not within his sensing range . The first audible thing that he could understand was from his cousin who asked, "So tell me what happened again, Sakura-san."

Feeling Sakura's chakra flowing through his face, he heard Sakura reply, "He trapped me in the Genjutsu and I punched him. This type of Genjutsu has an interesting side effect though. Whatever happens in the Genjutsu happens in real life. So when I punched him in the jaw in the Genjutsu, I broke his jaw in real life."

Laughing, Shisui said, "No way, you beat Itachi at his favorite game and you even broke his jaw!"

"I think I also gave him a concussion. I have to wait until he wakes up to find out though," Sakura said more to herself than to anyone.

However, the others heard her and began to praise her, except for Shisui who was laughing even harder by now. After all, how many people could break Itachi's Genjutsu by not only knocking him out, but also by giving him a concussion and breaking his jaw? Blinking his eyes and trying to adjust his eyes to the light, it was now Itachi's turn to feel irritated. How could he let himself be distracted enough to let this happen? He was an elite ninja; he should be better trained for this.

"Rise and shine, Itachi-_chan_. You just got your ass kicked by a girl," Shisui said with a smile on his face.

Sitting up, he could feel Sakura's hands go from his now fixed jaw to his head. Her chakra was warm and it helped straighten out his vision. Itachi knew that he had a concussion and Sakura knew it too, but neither of them said a word. They both knew and that was the important thing, no one else needed to know since it would probably only make the situation worse. Glancing at Sakura, he said, "That was an ... interesting surprise. I never would have guessed that someone like you would have a-"

Sakura quickly cut in, "Itachi-san, I think it would be best if you took a break and rested, can you walk to the bench with me?"

"I am fine," Itachi responded.

"So, Itachi, Sakura told us her side of the story how about you tell us your side?" Shisui said with an evil smile.

"Haruno-san knows how to use the element of surprise to benefit her surroundings. I would highly recommend her for ANBU," Itachi simply stated.

"What? Really?" Sakura said, while the other captains murmured in the background.

"Yes, you are the first non-ANBU to beat me. You are also the first to surprise me like that in many years. I am impressed," Itachi replied.

A man in his early forties stepped forward and said, "Well if Itachi-san recommends you so much, then I think that you would make an excellent member of ANBU. Congratulations, Haruno-san."

Smiling as wide as she could, she responded, "Thank you, sir, I promise to work hard."

Laughing, he turned away and went to get the next fight ready. Looking up at Sakura, Itachi said, "Thank you for taking care of me."

"It's no problem. I was the one who caused it in the first place," Sakura replied blushing.

"As a thank you, please allow me to treat you to a drink," Itachi offered.

"Oh no, I possibly couldn't-" Sakura started to say before she was cut off.

"I insist. You intrigue me and I wish to find out more about you," Itachi responded.

Turning three shades darker, Sakura replied, "If I'm not a bother than I suppose it's okay."

Laughing from a distance was Shisui. Silently he whispered to fellow captain, "He just got beat up by a girl and now he's asking her out. You've got to admit Itachi has guts."

"We all knew that. What he is doing now is stupid. Do you want to bet that this is going to end badly?" The fellow ANBU replied.

Smiling still, Shisui answered, "That's one bet I'm willing to take."


	2. Chapter 2

**It's finally done! Thank you for your patience! I don't know if I will ever add more, though. This was originally a one-shot, so if I do add more, just know that THIS IS NOT A SERIES AND NEVER WILL BE!**

**Have some more exclamation points!**

**Disclaimer: Pretty sure you all know I own nothing but dust.**

"Haruno-san," Itachi said, acknowledging the young woman standing in front of him.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura said in reply.

His stern posture and impassive expression didn't reassure her. Itachi stood under the awning of the tea shop they had chosen, looking as if he was the only man on the street. The housewives, Genin teams, and other children naturally avoided walking near him - his presence far surpassing their own. As she stood near him, it felt as if they were in fact in their own world, even the sounds and smells of Konoha seemed to be masked. Sakura shifted uneasily. As a ninja, she relied on her senses heavily; to have them suddenly cut off unsettled her.

"Just Itachi is fine," Itachi stated.

Sakura raised her eyebrows slightly, "Excuse me?"

"If we are to continue meeting, I would prefer to use first names," Itachi answered evenly.

Sakura nodded, the implications of both statements temporarily muted her. Not only did he want to be on a first name basis, he also wanted to drop the suffix on their names, despite the fact that they barely knew each other. Sakura had the fleeting idea of telling him 'no,' but realized that it woulds be rude and impossible - he was the ANBU captain, his word was law next to the Hokage's. The fact that he wanted to continue to meet with her though, puzzled her the most. Beside ANBU meetings and the rare health reason, Sakura didn't expect to see him at all.

"Itachi it is then. I prefer Sakura anyway; Haruno suits me better while I'm dealing with patients," Sakura said.

Itachi nodded in response. "After you, Sakura," he replied, motioning for her to lead the way into the shop.

Sakura stepped forward and wove her way to the back of the shop, sliding into a table that was near the front window. Once they were both settled, a waitress arrived to deliver their menus. As the waitress left, Sakura wasn't sure how to start a conversation with Itachi. She didn't even know what his motive for asking her to come was. Shaking off her nerves, Sakura said, "Thank you again, Itachi, for your recommendation. I'm not sure how well I would have done otherwise. All things considered, I should be the one treating you."

"There is no need. You would have passed even without my opinion. Your mission record is impressive and your skills are needed," he easily replied.

"Oh," Sakura mumbled, surprised to hear what he thought of her.

Itachi gave no indication that he heard her, instead he placed his order and turned towards the window. Sakura followed his order with her own and sat back in her chair. "Itachi-san," Sakura started out nervously, "earlier you said you wish to continue meeting with me. Would you please clarify what you meant by that?"

Itachi turned from the window and stared at her. For several long moments, he said nothing. His eyes bore into her own, making her fidget in her seat. Even when their tea had arrived, Itachi remain silent. Right as she was about to say something, he responded, "I wish to teach you."

The Uchiha clan was known for their traditionalist thinking and their serious manner. There were only a handful of Uchiha who were placed in the ninja ranks, most were taught through their clan and joined the police force. The few who were in the ninja ranks were taught when time permitted and sworn to secrecy in regards to what they learned - Uchiha jutsus were not public knowledge and were _not_ allowed to be passed on to other ninjas. Unsurprisingly, Sakura's jaw dropped when she heard Itachi. "I-I'm sorry, Itachi-san, um ... you said you wanted to _teach_ me?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the second use of a suffix, and simply nodded in response to Sakura's question. Sakura straightened in her seat, trying to figure out what was going on. Her mind told her she was going to be taught personally by the village's top ninja; but, her common sense told her she was imagining things. Deciding to follow her instinct, she preformed a silent Genjutsu Release on herself. When nothing changed, she looked again at Itachi who was looking on in interest. Sighing, Sakura mumbled, "Well, it was worth a try. You have to admit that being taught by an Uchiha is unheard of. Even Kakashi-sensei had to learn most of his techniques through trial and error."

"Make no mistake, I will not be teaching you any of the clan's jutsus," Itachi responded.

Sakura gave him a bewildered stare, trying to cover up her small slip, "I wasn't thinking that at all. I figured this has to do with my ... unique personality."

It had taken years for her to quell Inner Sakura; now that Itachi knew of her, Sakura felt as if the years of trouble she had gone through were for nought. A spilt personality was equal to early retirement at its best or a death sentence at its worst. The fact that the ANBU captain knew of her condition and that she was operating as a ninja, didn't bode well for her. The simple fact that he had recommended her for ANBU was the only reason she was even meeting him, instead of running away.

Itachi was silent once again. Sakura wasn't sure what she hated more, the silence or the anxiety it caused. "I wish to teach you Genjutsu. Your file says that you are proficient. It also says you are proficient in other useful areas," he finally said.

"Genjutsu? Proficient? You mean you aren't going to report me?" She asked in surprise.

Itachi shook his head, "ANBU operates under different guidelines. As long as you stay in control, I see no reason to report this. You obviously have been trained how to handle yourself."

Blushing, Sakura sheepishly relied, "A friend of mine found out. She helped me suppress my ... other tendencies. She knew how much I enjoyed being a ninja and wanted to make sure I could pass the mental health checks."

"Ino Yamanaka," Itachi stated.

She raised her eyebrows at how easily he said Ino's name. Both Ino and herself had spent months trying to keep their activities secret, if anyone were to know, they would both be stripped of their ninja status. Her surprise slowly turned into acceptance, their was nothing Itachi didn't know - it was his job to know everything. With a simple nod, Sakura unnecessarily confirmed his statement.

From there, the conversation had come to a stop. Sakura wanted desperately to ask what her training would be; but, she didn't want to have to drag every answer out of him. As she waited, she realized that the silence between them was more comfortable then is was before. After she had let go of her fear of being reported, the tension between them had dropped. The situation was only as awkward as she made it, and now that she knew that there was nothing to fear, she saw no reason to worry. Together, they finished their tea and sat in silence - something that Sakura found pleasant after spending so much time with Naruto.

"I wish to meet twice a week, if time permits," Itachi said, breaking the silence.

Sakura mentally reviewed her schedule, her medical and ninja training, hospital duties, and her research left her little time to herself. However, if she added Itachi's training to her independent training time, she realized that she could easily find time to learn from him. Nodding her head, she replied, "Monday and Wednesday evenings would work the best for me."

Itachi didn't reply straight away. He took out enough money to pay for their drinks and left it on the table as he stood up. Sakura followed his lead as he walked outside. He stood in the same place he had met her earlier, looking down the street towards the hospital. "You have your medical work every other day correct, Sakura?"

"Yes," she replied, not bothering to wonder how he knew.

"Monday and Friday afternoon and evenings are acceptable for me," Itachi said.

Sakura thought about it carefully. Friday was her free day; but, she could always take Wednesday off instead. Nodding, Sakura replied, "That works well too."

Itachi turned and started to walk to where Sakura knew only the training grounds were. She stood confused at his sudden departure. "Today is Friday, Sakura. We should start as soon as possible."

"Of course," Sakura replied automatically.

…

Three hours later, an extremely tired Sakura trudged her way into her apartment. Opening the door, she instinctively ducked the weapons flying towards her. Sensing no one in her apartment, she glanced at the wall behind her. Tied to one of the kunai was a small, white note. Sakura inspected it, making sure it wasn't a bomb. Relieved to see that it wasn't, she detached it.

On the front of the note, neat handwriting looped into an irritating message, _"It's still Friday."_

Sakura didn't have to guess who wrote the card. Itachi was making full use of the day, and there would be no rest for her. Sighing, she took the offending knives out of the wall and packed them into her own pouch - no need to get rid of good weapons. As she turned to walk back into her room, she felt a familiar presence quickly making it's way towards her. Glancing at the calendar that was barely visible on her counter, Sakura mentally berated herself for forgetting her plans with Naruto.

"Sakura! Are you ready for our date?" Naruto chimed as he rounded the corner.

Putting on a weak smile, she replied, "This isn't a date, idiot."

Laughing, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Whatever, you say, Sakura-chan."

With that, Sakura turned to close her door, wishing she could call off her plans. However, as Sakura and Naruto made their way to dinner, Sakura was glad she could spend some time with her teammate. It had been hard to meet with him recently; with her new rank and extra training, she knew it would only get harder.

As they reached a small restaurant near her house, Sakura felt her guard instinctively form. Discreetly, she checked her surroundings - Naruto, civilians, Genin, Sasuke … Sasuke! As soon as she recognized his chakra signature, she let her guard drop. Mentally, she berated herself; how could she mistake Sasuke for Itachi? Just because they were brothers didn't mean they were the same person.

Letting out an unnoticeable sigh, Sakura turned to look in Sasuke's direction. Naruto followed her gaze, unsure at what or who she was looking at. When he too noticed Sasuke's presence, he gave a toothy grin. When Sasuke rounded the corner, Sakura knew that his presence wasn't for social purposes. He walked with his shoulders squared and his back straight; a frown evident, causing his forehead to crease and scrunch downward; his hands were held tightly in fists.

Sakura knew why he was so upset. Naruto, having never been able to read Sasuke's mood, ran directly up to him and greeted him with an enthusiastic slap on the back. Frowning farther, Sasuke swiped Naruto's hand away, ignoring Naruto completely. He turned to Sakura, tersely asking, "How?"

Sakura let out a heavy sigh. She knew that eventually her teammates would find out. Now was as good as any to tell them. "He approached me. I was just as shocked as you probably were when he said he wanted to train me."

Sasuke's mouth dropped, his eyes widened. Sakura obviously caught him by surprise with the news. "I-Itachi's _training you?"_ Sasuke asked, unable to trust his own ears.

Sakura paused at his surprise. Confused, she responded, "Isn't that what you wanted to know? It's not like every Uchiha offers to train someone outside the clan."

"But, I thought you beat him! Why would he need to train you if you were able to beat him?" Sasuke asked, astonished at her revelation.

"Oh," Sakura said quietly, "that's what you wanted to know? I beat him by accident. I took him by surprise and broke his jaw."

Naruto, no longer able to stay quiet, shouted, "What! You broke Itachi's jaw?"

The people in the street paused momentarily in their activities. Itachi was famous for his acts as a ninja and for being a successor to one of the most powerful families in Konoha. No one - ninja or otherwise - had ever heard of someone who had been able to hurt him. However, seeing that it was the Hokage's apprentice that was being asked such a ludicrous question, few were surprised.

"He had me trapped in a Genjutsu. I didn't think it would really break his jaw…" Sakura trailed off, unsure how she was supposed to justify what she did.

Sasuke scoffed, "I've tried for years to beat him and _you_ do it by accident?"

Sakura flinched at his words. She had long proven her strength; but, compared to her powerhouse teammates, she could never match them.

Naruto, immediately shot back, "What's wrong with Sakura? She can beat your ass any day! It's not her fault you're so weak."

"Shut up, you stupid idiot, you know what I mean," Sasuke grounded out, not wanting to apologize.

Before anyone could say another word, Sakura spun around, kicking at Itachi who suddenly appeared behind her. "Unlike you, Sasuke, Sakura is able to conceal knowledge and use every advantage possible," Itachi said as he caught Sakura's foot.

Sakura wrenched her foot out of his grasp, blushing at his praise. "Thank you, Itachi. But, you really do give me too much praise."

"Today's training suggests otherwise," Itachi stated.

Sasuke, with renewed vigor at the mention of training, said, "Why are you training _her._ You never have time to train _me._ Besides she's not Uchiha!"

"Besides what I stated earlier, Sakura is proficient and I plan to use her as my team's medic," Itachi replied.

"You passed, Sakura? Way to go!" Naruto yelled, wrapping her in a hug.

Itachi gave a small glare towards Naruto. Sakura, seeing the glare, untangled herself from him and said, "Thanks, Naruto. You helped a lot with all my training. That's why I wanted to treat you today."

"Yes! Lunch on Sakura!" Naruto shouted.

Growling, Sasuke cut in, "Be quiet, idiot. There's no need to shout."

"You're just mad because you didn't help Sakura. Serves you right for taking all those stupid solo missions," Naruto shot back.

Before Sasuke could respond, Sakura replied, "It wasn't all his fault, Tsunade gave them to him."

"Yeah, but we're his team; he can't keep doing things without us. What if he got hurt? Who would save his ass?" Naruto teased.

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes. Sakura turned towards Itachi, blocking out Sasuke and Naruto's impending argument. "Is something wrong, Itachi?"

"No, nothing's wrong," Itachi replied, his eyes focused on his brother.

Sakura frowned. She shifted her posture so that she could easily take the offensive or the defensive. It _was_ still Friday.

Itachi glanced at Sakura, reading her stance. He smirked, knowing that he had her on edge. Sakura noticed and frowned, hating the fact that he enjoyed stringing her along. Itachi caught her frown; his smirk widening. Slowly, he reached into his pocket, watching Sakura tense in response. He pulled out a scroll and offered it to her.

Sakura looked at the scroll in confusion. Itachi offered it to her again, saying, "It's our first mission with you as our medic."

Understanding hit Sakura as she took the scroll from Itachi, nodding her head in thanks. Before she could pull away, Itachi grabbed her hand. "Come early tomorrow, I want to introduce you to the team," he said, his eyes staring into her own.

Sakura blushed under his gaze. Gathering her composure, she reminded herself not to act like a school girl. "Yes, sir," Sakura responded.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her formal response. Sakura's lips twitched in amusement. Itachi's smirk returned as he shifted his gaze back to his brother.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Don't disappoint me," Itachi said, directing his words at Sakura despite where his attention seemed to be, before disappearing.

Sakura straightened at his words.

"Stupid idiot," a voice suddenly said.

Sakura turned around to find that Naruto and Sasuke had stop arguing. Naruto was glaring in the direction Itachi had left. Sakura looked at him in confusion.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto explained, "Well it's not like your going to mess up the mission on purpose. Besides, if your good enough to be on his team, then he shouldn't need to remind you."

Sakura smiled at his compliment. "Thanks, Naruto. Unfortunately, it looks like I have a mission to get ready for. Lunch will have to wait until I get back," Sakura said.

Naruto gave her an easy smile and a quick hug before letting her leave. Sasuke and Naruto watched as she sped along the rooftops until she was out of site.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, drawing Naruto's attention.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke's face scrunched inwards, as if he was in pain. "He … I think … Itachi might have more than a … _professional_ interest in Sakura."

Naruto stared at Sasuke with his mouth wide open. "What?" Naruto asked, not wanting to comprehend what he had just heard.

Not responding, Sasuke sneered at the thought of his brother and Sakura together. Not wanting to be ignored, Naruto grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt. "What are you talking about?"

Shoving Naruto off again, Sasuke growled, "I mean that he is trying to express his interest in Sakura."

"But, he's the ice king of ANBU! He doesn't have feelings!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke threw a punch at Naruto, who ducked just in time. "That's my brother you're talking about," Sasuke snarled back.

Scoffing, Naruto waved his comment off, "Look it doesn't matter who he is. All that matters is that whoever they are, they stay away from Sakura."

Sasuke, still upset about the insult to his brother, nodded. He - like Naruto - didn't want to see Sakura getting hurt by anyone he couldn't kill. "how do you propose we stop them?" He asked.

"You will not stop them," a voice suddenly replied from behind Naruto and Sasuke.

Twitching in surprise, Naruto and Sasuke immediately turned to see who had snuck up on them. When they saw that it was Sasuke's older cousin Shisui, they both relaxed.

"And why can't we stop them?" Naruto asked.

Raising his brow, Shisui responded, "Because I have money on them?"

"Not good enough," Sasuke replied.

Letting loose a long sigh, Shisui added, "All of ANBU has bets going on about those two," he said, pausing only a moment, "Your parents also approve of Itachi's choice."

Sasuke snapped his full attention on Shisui, "What!"

"Who cares? It's not like Itachi can't get whoever else he wants in the village," Naruto grumbled.

"Damn," Sasuke muttered angrily.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Tch," Sasuke replied, "I'd be disowned before I could even try breaking them apart. Knowing my mother, she probably already has the wedding planned."

A look of horror crossed Naruto's face, "We have to save her now! If we wait any longer-"

"If you mess this up, then the entire ANBU branch will hunt you down and skin you alive. I also happen to be the new Mission Attendant, which means I will give you Genin level mission for the next month if you don't leave them alone," Shisui cut Naruto off.

Frowning at his open threat, Naruto wanted to argue back. However, he held his tongue, knowing that Shisui was probably telling the truth. "If he hurts one hair on his head, I'll rip his head off," Naruto growled in response.

"I'm sure that's all Sakura can ask for," Shisui smiled suddenly, grabbing them both by the arms, "Now that we have that out of the way, how about I introduce you to the bookie that's keeping track of all the bets?"

**REVIEW TIME! PLEASE AND THANKS! I LOVE FLAMES TOO, IT'S HOW I RAOST MY PLOT BUNNIES! YUM, PLOT BUNNY STEW :9 This was not beta read, if you have any corrections please tell me :)**


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